Packing unit for shipping cases



April 19, '1927. 1,625,620

E. E. MASTON PACKING UNIT FOR SHIPPING CASES.

Filed July 5 1924 2&1.

Patented Apr. 19, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT'OFFICE.

EDWARD E. MASTON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 MID-WEST BOX COMPANY,

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, .A CORPORATION OF INDIANA.

FAOKING UNIT FOR SHIIPING CASES.

Application filedJ'uly 5, 1924. Serial No. 724,204.

The invention relates to packing units for shipping cases. In shipping fragile articles, such as lamp-shades and the like, it has heretofore been the practice to use packing units of corrugated board with slits therein to form tongues to space thearticles from one another. The object of the present invention is to provide an improved packing unit for this purpose, in which the tongues are formed with openings between them which will render them more effective in cushioning the articles. Other objects Wlll appear from the detailed description.

The invention consists in the several features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a plan of a packing partition fora shipping case before it has been folded for use. Fig. 2 is a perspective after it has been'folded. Fig. 3 is a section of a shipping case showing several of the packing units in use.

The invention is exemplified in a packing unit which is preferably formed of a sheet of double-faced corrugated board, is cut to form a flat portion 4, which serves as apar tition, and is marginally creased as at 5, to form flaps 6, which are adapted to be bent at right angles to the portion 4 to space the partitions from one another in an ordinary shipping case 7 V A central circular hole 8 is cut in the sheet. A series of three-sided openings 10 are cut through the portion 4 of the sheet.

The bases 10 of theseopenings are cut on a circle concentric with hole 8 and their sides 1O converge towards the center to an apex 10 disposed outwardly of the central hole 8. The sheet is slitted radially at 11 he'- tween the apices of-openingslO and hole 8. The portions of the sheet between openings 10 and slits'll form a series of tongues-12. The sheet. is circularly creased at 12 on a line coincident with the bases of the threesided openings 10 to render the tongues flexible transversely of the portion 4 of the sheet to conform to and form cushions between the inner portions of fragile articles, such as lamp-shades or other glassware.

In the use of these partitions, they are usually shipped while they are flat, as shown in Fig. 1. When they are to be used, the

flaps 6 are bent at right angles so that they will fit against the sides of the shipping case 7 to space the partitions from one an-- other in the case. Tongues 12 will be free to be flexed upwardly to extend between and protect the inner portions of articles from contact with one another.

A characteristic, resulting from forming the three-sided inwardly convergent openings 10 between the tongues as described, 1s that the tongues will be more independently flexible and individually conformable to the articles than when the tongues are formed by. radial slitting alone, more particularly when the outer portions of the tongues contact with the articles. A char actcristic of circularly creasing the sheet in connection with these spaced tongues is that the outer portions of the tongues are better adapted to conform to the circular surfaces on the articles and thus to better cushion them than when the creases are straight. Furthermore, by curving the creases and bases of the openings 10 on a substantially coincident circular line, the cost of production is reduced, because an inexpensive combined circular cutting and creasing die may be used.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth, since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A packing unit for shipping cases consisting of a sheet of paper board having a substantially fiat portion forming a partition, and marginal spacing flanges, the central portion of the partition being provided with-integral radially extending tongues, flexible relatively to said flat portion, and with inwardly convergent openings cut therethrough between said tongues to space the outer ends'of the tongues from one another tofacilitate the flexing of said tongues.

2. A packing unit for shipping cases consisting of a sheet of paper board having a substantially flat portion forming a partition, and marginal spacing flanges, the central portion of the partition being provided with integral radially extending tongues,

flexible relatively to said fiat portion, and with inwardly convergent openings cut lherethrough between said tongues to space the outer ends of the tongues from one another to facilitate the flexing of said tongues, the sheet being circularly creased between the outer portions of the tongues and the flat portion, and the outer sides of said openings being cut on a curve coincident with sald crease.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 30 day of June, 1924.

EDWARD E. MASTON. 

